Busy Bees at Bicester Kingsmere

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children clearly enjoy attending this welcoming nursery. They settle quickly and are eager to join in with play as soon as they arrive.

Children have caring attachments with their key person and demonstrate they feel emotionally secure. Staff know children well and provide a stimulating learning environment for children of all ages. Children benefit from activities that are planned in line with their interests and emerging learning needs.

Staff working with babies, support their exploration and developing mobility well. Toddlers enjoy exploring sensory materials, including rice and play dough. Staff recognise and prais...e children's efforts and achievements.

This helps them to grow in confidence and feel emotionally secure.Children are busy and engaged and have fun playing games with their friends. Staff have high expectations for behaviour and children behave well.

They practise their physical skills as they steer ride-on toys and attempt to catch magnetic fish in the water tray. Children share and take turns as they play. Children learn to be independent from an early age.

Staff support babies to feed themselves and encourage older children to manage their own self-care needs. Children grow in independence and take good levels of responsibility for managing aspects of their own play and learning. They are well prepared for the next stage of their education.

What does the early years setting do well and what does it need to do better?

The leadership team work closely together to continually review and develop the nursery. This enables them to address any areas for improvement and continue to provide high-quality care. Staff state that the manager is very supportive and places a high importance on staff well-being.

They benefit from regular meetings with the manager to reflect on their practice and identify training to develop their knowledge and skills. The views of staff and parents are valued and there are regular opportunities for them to share their opinions.Parents speak very positively about the setting, warmly describing the friendliness and professionalism of the staff team and how happy their children are to attend.

Staff provide parents with regular updates about their child's progress and use an electronic system to aid communication even further. This approach also gives parents frequent opportunities to contribute to what their child is learning at home, so that staff can build this into their learning.The leadership team and staff provide a curriculum that follows children's interests and the development of the skills they will need for future learning.

They assess children's skills and knowledge and use the information to provide activities and opportunities to enhance their learning. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported effectively. Staff use appropriate strategies, which help improve outcomes for children.

Staff use repetition of key words, to support the early language development of younger children and those with communication difficulties. They repeat back and pronounce words correctly as babies and toddlers show emerging language skills. Staff ask questions to extend conversations.

However, on some occasions, children are not given time to think about questions and answer for themselves.Children learn about diversity and the wider world through discussions and activities that build their awareness of cultural events and celebrations during the year. For example, toddlers enjoy making cards for Diwali using rice and older children explore Rangoli patterns.

Children's understanding of counting and number is promoted well. However, on occasion, staff do not take advantage of opportunities to further extend children's learning in mathematics, specifically their understanding of concepts, such as space, shape and measures.Staff are good role models and manage children's behaviour effectively.

They encourage children to take responsibility for their environment and children show great consideration and cooperation as they help to tidy away the toys and lay the table for lunch. Children demonstrate a positive attitude to their learning. Older children display good concentration as they carefully fill beakers with flour and salt to make salt dough.

Younger children show how that they can put on their own coats and wellington boots independently. Children are well mannered and polite. They show respect for one another and towards staff.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Leaders ensure that staff regularly update their knowledge on current safeguarding issues. The provider has comprehensive and clear safeguarding policies in place.

Staff are fully aware of their roles and responsibilities around safeguarding. They have a secure knowledge of the signs and symptoms that may indicate that a child is at risk of harm. All staff know the procedures they must follow in the event of concerns about a child or where an allegation is made against a member of staff.

They keep the environment safe and secure. The leadership team uses robust recruitment procedures to ensure all new staff are suitable to work with children.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: build on staff's questioning techniques to enable children to have more time to think and answer for themselves help staff to recognise and make more effective use of spontaneous opportunities to support children's understanding of mathematical concepts, such as space, shape and measures.

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